Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
Voters in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, have raised concerns over alleged missing names from the voters’ register, leaving some eligible voters stranded and unable to participate in Saturday’s governorship election. At Polling Unit 017 in Osogbo, Olaniyi Kafayah, who has reportedly voted at the polling unit in previous elections, could not find her name on the voters’ list. The development has reportedly affected several other voters at the polling unit, with field findings showing that about five people had lodged similar complaints.
“There are about five people now that have stated they have similar complaints here. More like a tactic to suppress them from voting,” a source said. According to the field findings, some elderly voters who had previously participated in elections at the polling unit were also unable to find their names on the register and had consequently been prevented from voting. It was gathered that voters who usually vote in the state could not see their names and have been prevented from voting. Another voter said she had been stranded at the polling unit despite making efforts to cast her ballot since the morning. She said she was stranded and that all efforts to vote since 8am had yielded no results.
The complaints come amid broader concerns over accreditation challenges reported at several polling units across Osun State as voters turned out to elect the next governor of the state. Earlier, Osun State Deputy Governor, Kola Adewusi, expressed displeasure with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) after the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) deployed to his polling unit malfunctioned during the election. Adewusi said the technical failure slowed down the accreditation process and prevented many voters from casting their ballots, raising concerns about possible disenfranchisement.
Speaking at his polling unit, the deputy governor said the voting process had initially proceeded smoothly before the BVAS began experiencing problems. "Election was going well until the BVAS started malfunctioning and started giving issues and it has slowed down the process leaving many persons not voting," he said. Adewusi also expressed frustration over attempts to contact INEC officials over the malfunction, saying efforts to reach the relevant commission authorities had been unsuccessful. He appealed to INEC to urgently address the technical problem and ensure that the accreditation machine was restored to working condition to enable eligible voters participate in the election.
The deputy governor said the continued malfunction of the BVAS could leave a significant number of voters unable to exercise their constitutional right to vote if the situation was not promptly resolved. His complaint came amid widespread concerns over the performance of BVAS machines at polling units across the state, with voters in several locations reporting delays in accreditation. Earlier, SaharaReporters reported a large turnout of voters at the polling unit of Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, in Ede, where voters expressed frustration over delays caused by the slow performance of the BVAS deployed by INEC.
The combination of missing names on voters’ lists and malfunctioning or slow BVAS machines has heightened concerns among voters over possible disenfranchisement in the closely watched governorship election. Some voters questioned whether the technical problems and difficulties encountered during accreditation were simply malfunctions or represented a deliberate attempt to frustrate eligible voters from participating in the poll.
As the day progressed, efforts by the affected voters to get answers from INEC officials at the polling unit proved futile, leaving them to watch helplessly as others cast their ballots. The incident at Unit 017 underscores a growing pattern of logistical and technical failures that have plagued the electoral process in Osun State, raising serious questions about INEC's preparedness and the integrity of the voters' register.
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